Rob Tibbetts
Relatives of missing University of Iowa student Mollie Tibbetts held a news conference in their hometown of Brooklyn today to give details on a reward. Mollie’s mother, Laura Caulderwood, explained what they are doing.
“We have set up a ‘Bring Mollie Tibbetts Home Safe Reward Fund’ at First State Bank here in Brooklyn Iowa,” Caulderwood says. “We believe that Mollie is still alive, and if someone has abducted her, we plead with you to please release her.”
Mollie Tibbetts disappeared on July 18th. Caulderwood says they’ve already raised $172,000 to offer as a reward for information that leads to them finding Mollie. “You can contact Crimestoppers of Central Iowa at 800-452-1111. Or email your tip online at www.crimestoppersofcentralIowa.com,” Caulderwood says. She says Crimestoppers allows you to come forward with information and remain anonymous.
“We are very thankful for all the efforts of law enforcement and our friends in searching for Mollie,” Caulderwood says. “It is our greatest hope that if someone has her that they would just release here, and claim that money that we have raised for her freedom.” You can also make a donation to the reward fund through the Crimestoppers website. Tibbetts father Rob says they are focused on bringing Mollie home.
“The family is holding up just fine. We are setting our personal feelings aside — this is a fight for our daughter — and we have all the tools that we can use,” Tibbetts says. Tibbetts would not comment on any other aspects of the investigation and focused solely on the reward information. He says they are letting the investigators do their job.
“We are told very little by the authorities for very good reason. They are incredible partners. They’ve put together an incredible investigation. It’s large, it’s sophisticated, it’s aggressive, and they have been nothing but sensitive to our family. And to suggest otherwise is wrong,” Tibbetts says.
Tibbetts hopes the reward will spur someone who has information to come forward. “People are reluctant to come forward with information because they think it is irrelevant it’s trivial,” Tibbetts says. “Nothing is irrelevant, nothing is trivial, and the authorities have told us as much. They have the resources to sort our what’s right and what’s wrong. So if you have something that is either trivial or could implicate someone you know or love, come forward with the information. The authorities can sort that out and they can do it quickly.”
Investigators plan to hold another news conference Friday to give an update on the investigation.